The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) has published the amendments to the End-User and Subscriber Service Charter (EUSSC) Regulations, setting out new rules on data provision.

The EUSSC Amendment Regulations 2025, published on January 23, will come into effect 12 months after its gazetting.

The move by Icasa was welcomed by Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Solly Malatsi, who said that the new regulations would bring relief to consumers by ensuring that purchased data can be rolled over, as well as providing users with the option of transferring data.

According to the Gazette, regulation 8A Voice, SMS data services has been amended, outlining that the licensees, such as Vodacom, Telkom and MTN, for example, must, at the end of the validity period of a bundle, roll over any unused bundle or portions at least once, and subject the bundle rolled over to the same terms and conditions applicable to the original bundle, except for bundles that are seven days or less and excluding uncapped, free and promotional bundles.

The roll-over of bundles must occur without requiring action and without incurring any cost to the end-user, provided that the number remains active, and licensees are required to provide the end-user with an option to transfer bundles or portions to any end-user using services of the same licensee, subject to the same terms and conditions applicable to the original bundle.

The licensees are also required to send use depletion notifications to end-users through SMS, push notification or any other applicable means, when use reaches 50%, 80% and 100% depletion of each bundle – a service that end-users have the option to opt out of or into.

The gazette further pointed out that, at all times, a licensee must ensure that end-users are provided with the option to buy additional bundles through the USSD platform or push notification and opt in to, or opt out of, out-of-bundle use charges.

The EUSSC strengthens consumer protection and aligns with the Government of National Unity’s broader efforts to make communication services more affordable, which is critical to expanding access so that all South Africans can participate meaningfully in the digital economy, said Malatsi.

“The need for data in the digital economy is ever-increasing. Lower data costs enable households, learners and small businesses to use the Internet more productively and to participate meaningfully in the digital economy.”

In line with this, government continues to take steps to make connectivity more affordable and accessible, including reducing taxes on smart devices; encouraging investment and competition to drive innovation and affordability; working with local and international members of the ecosystem to extend connectivity; aligning permitting processes for access to land including government infrastructure; and encouraging infrastructure-sharing to reduce network build costs.

“We remain committed to working with all partners in the sector to drive down data costs, improve access and accelerate South Africa’s digital transformation for the benefit of all,” Malatsi concluded.

Icasa started the process to amend the EUSSC Regulations 2016 in February 2024.